Indian shares end lower on profit-taking

Source :

Last Updated: Tue, Mar 11, 2014 11:30 hrs

* BSE index falls 0.50 pct; NSE index down 0.39 pct

* NSE hits another record high this session

* Metal stocks fall on China concerns

By Indulal PM

MUMBAI, March 11 (Reuters) - India's broader NSE index fell
on Tuesday, retreating from a record high hit earlier in the
session, as recent outperformers such as Reliance Industries
fell on profit-booking ahead of key inflation data.

India's record-setting rally, with the NSE hitting its third
all-time high in as many sessions, faces a key test on Wednesday
when India is due to release consumer inflation and industrial
output data, the last set of reports before the Reserve Bank of
India's policy review on April 1.

Although foreign institutional investors on Monday bought a
net $211.6 million shares in secondary markets, heavy selling in
primary markets turned them into net sellers of $612 million for
the day, halting a 16-day consecutive buying streak.

Still, for the year, overseas funds have bought a net $1.5
billion, which analysts have attributed largely to bets on a
recovery in the domestic economy, easing inflation, and the
prospect of a win by the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party,
which is considered more business-friendly by markets.

"Markets will be watching the data," said Jagannadham
Thunuguntla, chief strategist at SMC Global Securities.

"But people are building up positions and focusing their
portfolios on the next big event, which is elections. There
could be some correction, but the undercurrent is positive."

The NSE fell 0.39 percent to end at 6,511.90 points,
retreating from a record high of 6,562.85 points hit earlier in
the day.

The fall snapped a five-day winning streak in which the NSE
index had surged 5.1 percent.

The BSE index fell 0.49 percent to end at
21,826.42, also snapping a five-session winning run, although
the benchmark did not set a record high on Tuesday.

Recent top gainers were among the biggest decliners.
Reliance Industries Ltd fell 1.2 percent after surging
9.7 percent over the previous three sessions, while HDFC Bank
Ltd lost 1.3 percent after jumping 9.8 percent over
the same period.

Metal stocks extended falls to a second day on rising fears
of a slowdown in China. Tata Steel fell 5.6 percent,
after losing 1.9 percent on Monday. Hindalco Industries
fell 3.7 percent.

Meanwhile, Sesa Sterlite ended 3.34 percent lower
adding to its 1.2 percent fall in the previous session, as iron
ore prices posted their biggest one-day drop in over four years
on Monday.

But among the gainers, power stocks surged after Delhi's
electricity regulator laid out a plan to pay the utilities for
some of the money owed to them by consumers in the Indian
capital.